I've gathered some great information over the past few weeks. Here's an update on the following topics:1) Rail Destressing & Tie Replacement Projects2) Boston Landing & Allston single track3) Turn Table for new schedule4) Track assignments for new schedule

1) Rail Destressing & Tie Replacement Projects

It was a race to the heat and the weather won. The MBTA was trying their best to accelerate the rail destressing construction so that it would be completed before the hot weather arrived. Our little late May heat wave dashed those hopes.

As I've previously reported, the funding for the completion of ALL rail destressing between Boston and Worcester was only approved in late March. Until that point, there was one large section of rail that would never have been destressed. So along with the tie replacement project, the last portion of the entire rail destressing project has been ongoing throughout this spring.

The last sections of track that needed destressing are typically used for inbound trains in the afternoon. All of the 'outbound' tracks have already been destressed. So how do outbound trains become delayed in that scenario?

As you may recall, the new schedule eliminated the idea of 'interlining' trains. Meaning that there are now 8 sets of equipment dedicated to the Framingham-Worcester line. They just go back and forth from Worcester (or Framingham) to Boston. In the middle of the day, some of them are parked in yards or go for service, since 8 train sets aren't needed for the reduced service in the middle of the day.

With no interlined trains, a delayed inbound train can delay an outbound train since that inbound equipment is needed for outbound trips. The inbound/outbound non-interlining system is also a reason why evening trains are delayed even though the construction ended before rush hour.

That's why it was so important to get all of the tracks destressed. So kudos again to however they came up with the money for these construction projects - we've gotten a big influx of money and the payoff will be good.

The other good news is that both the rail destressing project and the tie replacement project are ahead of schedule and will be completed in June. So only a few more weeks of construction and heat restrictions. After the projects are complete, there will be no more heat restrictions and no more construction delays west of Boston Landing. Hang in there, we're almost there!

Actually there will be construction later this year. The tie replacement project will continue on track 2 west of Framingham in the fall. So we're not completely done with construction delays. But the summer should be much better than recent weeks.

To be specific, the current status of the rail destressing project is:

Track 2:CP 4 to Framingham - destressed in 2015.Framingham to Worcester - destressing will be completed in June.

CP = "Controlled Point." You can read about the definition of CP in the glossary.CP 4 = The interlocking just west of the new Boston Landing construction. CP 4 is where the two tracks from Worcester become a single track through the Beacon Park freight yard.CP 11 = What I call the "Weston switch," this is the interlocking between the Wellesley Farms and Auburndale stations, right next to the Leo J. Martin golf course and just west of Route 128.

Until Track 2 is fully destressed, certain sections of track 2 between Framingham and Worcester will have a 30 mph speed restriction imposed in hot weather. The previous rule was that ambient temperatures above 85 degrees at Worcester, Framingham, or Boston triggered the heat restrictions and that appears to be what happened on Tuesday 5/25. The temperature spiked above 85 degrees at Framingham and the heat restrictions were imposed. I'm not sure if Boston is still a part of the rule since the section of affected track is far from Boston. And who knows, the entire rule could have changed.

If you're a first time reader and would like the background on heat restrictions and rail destressing, read this post for an introduction to the topic. Also don't forget to use the 'category' links on the right side of this page to read all the posts about certain topics.

Astute readers may notice that I don't spend much time talking about the tie replacement project in the above discussion regarding heat restrictions. That's because the tie replacement actually has nothing to do with removing heat restrictions - the rail destressing is performed FIRST, and then the ties are replaced after the rail is destressed. The tie replacement is important, but it won't affect heat restrictions, regardless of what politicians and the mainstream media try to tell us.

The tie replacement project is proactive maintenance that maintains the track in good condition. Rotted ties are one of the most common causes of speed restrictions. Some of you may recall a 5 mph speed restriction just west of Yawkey at the CP 3 interlocking for about a week in April or May. That speed restriction was imposed after the FRA (Federal Railway Administration) inspection car came across the line and found TWO rotted ties at that location. That was enough to impose a speed restriction for safety purposes. So proactive tie replacement is very important to avoid the imposition of those speed restrictions (and keep the system safe!), but it doesn't really have anything to do with heat restrictions.

However, tie replacement is actually more disruptive to the rail bed than rail destressing. Therefore tie replacement results in speed restrictions that last longer (on the calendar) and affect more trains over more days. Areas where the ties are replaced have new ballast (stone) spread and tamped, which takes time to settle and stabilize. This results in a requirement for temporary speed restrictions related to the amount of tonnage (number and weight of trains) that pass over the modified railbed.

Most of the tie replacement has been completed (obviously, since they only have a few weeks left of construction!). The remaining few sections for tie replacement include a section on track 1 in Wellesley and Natick, a section within and near Framingham station on track 1, and a section on track 1 in Ashland and Southboro. Track 1 through Wellesley and Natick never carries rush hour trains (AM or PM), so temporary speed restrictions there don't affect most of us. Track 1 from Framingham to Worcester is the outbound track (all day), so temporary speed restrictions have affected lots of passengers on that stretch and will continue to affect us. It should also be noted that the temporary speed restrictions related to the tie replacement project will last PAST the completion of construction - again, the speed restriction remains in place until a certain amount of tonnage passes over the disturbed railbed. So expect delays through the Ashland and Southboro areas through June on track 1 (outbound track).

2) Boston Landing & Allston Single Track

The background on Boston Landing station is in this post. More good news to report today - the construction is ahead of schedule and the station should be completed before the end of this year. The original schedule put construction completion in the spring of 2017. With both the Celtics and Bruins practice facilities being built at Boston Landing, maybe we'll see players taking the train to practice this winter?

As most of you are aware, the section of track from CP 4 (near Boston Landing) to CP 3 (just west of Yawkey) has been the only section of single track between Worcester and Boston since the Mass Pike extension was built in the 1960's. That foolish decision is now being corrected, with the MBTA and Keolis starting construction on a second mainline track through this section.

As you pass through the former Beacon Park freight yard you can see this construction. The first step in the process is the removal of the 40 foot sections of 'stick rail,' which will be replaced with continuously welded rail. All of the switches connecting into the freight yard are also currently being removed. The path of the new mainline 'second track' will follow the existing path of the freight lead closest to the existing single track mainline. This includes going up onto the little 'rise' and under the Mass Pike viaduct since there is a column supporting the Mass Pike preventing the second track from being directly adjacent to the existing single track.

The only bad news is that this second track construction will be synchronized with the completion of the Boston Landing station, so the second track won't be completed as soon as we would all like. The new second track will be 'stubbed out' to align with the new tracks alongside the new Boston Landing station and only connected once the tracks alongside the station are completed.

For fellow rail nerds, part of this overall project will be the decommissioning of CP 4 (it will no longer exist as an interlocking). It will be replaced with a new interlocking at CP 6, which will be on the straight / tangent rail section along the Mass Pike near the Staples store on Soldiers Field Road. A freight lead switch will be included somewhere near Boston Landing station and the former location of CP 4 to allow freight trains to access the parts of Beacon Park yard still in service.

3) Turn Table for New Schedule

I've updated the "Turn Table" for the new schedule. Theoretically, with 8 dedicated sets of equipment, we should be able to figure out the 'turns' at South Station as well as the 'turns' at Worcester. I gave it a try but it is impossible since all of the equipment goes to storage or service in the middle of the day. How that equipment returns to service in the afternoon is where I couldn't 'reverse engineer' the schedule. We'll see if I can't get some additional information and create a more comprehensive table of equipment usage and all equipment turns.

4) Track Assignments for New Schedule

As detailed in previous blog posts, the 'inbound' and 'outbound' tracks are really not labeled properly or helpfully. Based on the new schedule, I've updated my table of track assignments, which includes the status of the rail destressing as of now. As explained above, this table will soon be covered entirely in green!

Also note that there are no leapfrog moves with the new schedule, and the Newton stretch is kept more consistent than with previous schedules (at the expense of reverse commute options for Newton passengers). Overall an operational improvement that should result in better service and less delays (remember, the current delays are primarily related to construction, and those should be gone soon).

Lots happening out on the Framingham-Worcester line! I'll blog more about the ongoing construction and the new schedule in a separate post, but for now, let's recap the inaugural run of the "Heart to Hub" 'bullet' train. I won't repeat my objections or concerns here - those are well documented in my previous blog posts.

I did go out to Worcester to see the inaugural event and participate in the "First Ride." There was plenty of media reporting about the trip...

Mass Live article here
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Official reports indicate that the first inbound "Heart to Hub" carried about 300 passengers. I walked through the entire train and although there was a large contingent of media, politicians, WPI students, and "Action Worcester" participants, the majority of passengers appeared to be 'normal' commuters and/or 'normal' single trip riders (i.e. not daily commuters) - some who clearly had no idea the train would be the subject of a massive PR blitz!

Based on rider observations, ridership for subsequent "Heart to Hub" runs was:

1. The speeches at both ends were predictably boosterish. Nothing groundbreaking or particularly noteworthy from my perspective. Appropriate thanks given to relevant players and the Lt. Governor held a very respectful moment of silence for the recently murdered Auburn police officer.

2. "Jake" the Worcester Braveheart lion, "Charlie" the MBTA mascot, and the oversized custom Charlie Ticket presented to the Lt. Governor were all proof that the event was the biggest political event in Massachusetts since the signing of the Mayflower Compact or the 2004 Red Sox World Series victory.
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Yours truly, "Twitter Dave," getting my photo with the mascots. It was actually pretty entertaining. Thanks to my Keolis friends for taking the photos...I'm sure when @MBTA_CR retweeted my photo with Jake, most subscribers to that Twitter feed were wondering "who the heck is this guy and why is he posing with a Lion?"

3. The festive atmosphere aboard the train near the gaggle of politicians was pleasantly contagious and genuinely amusing. Although it was funny that all the politicians piled into the quiet car which the conductor sheepishly announced while everyone was boarding, but then probably quickly decided really didn't need to be enforced. One of the Worcester politicians was celebrating his birthday...I wasn't quick enough with my phone camera to record the Lt. Governor leading the quiet car coach in singing "Happy Birthday" to him. It was hard to be cynical about the mood, but maybe that's just because I don't spend too much time in these type of situations. I did remind myself a couple of times that it was only a train...

4. I spoke with all of the politicians on the train and they were all very pleasant and approachable. Some of them seemed a little surprised when I vocalized my concern about the "Heart to Hub" service, but we had some good discussions. As always, the MBTA and Keolis senior staff aboard the train were very engaging and tolerant of my technical questions and observations. It was fun hanging out with them and my various media friends.

5. The equipment for the bullet train starts the day as inbound P500 from the layover yard at Worcester. As soon as it arrives in Boston, it immediately turns and runs outbound as a non-revenue deadhead express to Worcester. This outbound leg isn't used as a revenue service train because of the quick turn time in Boston. For the inaugural run, the set was loco 2037 with five flats (control coach 1522). Testing continues on a possible 3 coach set for this run. Initial tests indicate that the braking characteristics of a three coach train set are acceptable, but further testing is needed to verify that the block signal system (especially on the Fairmount branch) can accommodate a short train (a short train might not be long enough to close the track circuit to indicate that the block is occupied). So don't be surprised to see a four coach set and perhaps a three coach set eventually. Especially if ridership stays as low as noted after the inaugural run...

6. I documented our arrival time at Yawkey as 4 minutes late. The delay between Worcester and Yawkey appeared to be in Framingham - we went through at much slower than the authorized track speed. Rumors were that there was an issue at the Bishop Street grade crossing, but I'm not sure about that. I was disappointed to see some politicians suggest that our late arrival at South Station was due to a longer dwell time at Yawkey due to folks taking pictures. The station stop at Yawkey did seem a little longer than necessary, but since we arrived at Yawkey late the overall delay for the trip was not there.

I'm really glad I took the time to go out and participate. It was an enjoyable morning and a great opportunity to get a glimpse at a full blown political event / operation. I doubt the service will be successful enough to justify (at least to me) its existence, but I don't want it to fail. Some people will definitely benefit from it. We'll see...keep those ridership reports coming. ​

As many riders will notice, the rush hour Framingham-Worcester trains board on the same platform for both inbound and outbound rush hour trips between West Natick and Wellesley Farms. The MBTA and Keolis call this the "inbound" track but it is actually track 2. So why do they use track 2 for all the rush hour service here?

For most train operations where there is more than one track over a long distance, the routing of trains is usually similar to roadway traffic in the US: trains stay on the right side track. This practice is followed between Ashland and Grafton: there is an "inbound" (track 2) and "outbound" (track 1) arrangement that is almost always true. The recent construction has meant shuffling of service on this stretch, but that is a temporary condition due to the construction. Worcester's platform is only on a siding accessed from track 1, so that's the problem there.

So what is going on between West Natick and Wellesley Farms?

Before May 15, 2006, the section between West Natick and Wellesley Farms actually used the same pattern all day long: track 1 was always outbound and track 2 was always inbound. You fellow long term riders remember this - boarding on one side in the morning and getting off on the other side in the evening. That's what the Grafton to Ashland passengers do every day even now (ignoring construction related changes).

Prior to May 15, 2006, the MBTA (and MBCR) distributed this notice to announce the change to the track usage pattern, instituting the pattern that we have now: track 2 is used for both inbound and outbound rush hour trains between West Natick and Wellesley Farms.

Those of you familiar with the West Natick and Wellesley Hills station know that they are unique among the stations on the line. At both of those stations, the only access to the track 1 platform is via a wooden walkway from the track 2 platform across both sets of tracks. There is no access to the 'outside world' from the track 1 platform at either of those stations - the West Natick track 1 platform is up against neighborhood backyards, and the Wellesley Hills track 1 platform is up against a giant cliff (where an excavator tried to tumble onto the tracks, but that's an entirely different story, with pictures, of course...).

So everyone who gets on or off a train on track 1 at those stations has to cross the wooden walkway across both tracks. A less than ideal situation. During the morning, it's not a problem - track 2 is the 'natural' inbound track. But in the afternoon, prior to May 15, 2006, the large volume of commuters would get off on track 1 at those stations and have to cross both track 1 and track 2 to get to the parking lots or sidewalks or anywhere.

Moving all the outbound rush hour trains to track 2 in the afternoon means that the largest volume of afternoon / evening passengers no longer have to cross the tracks.

Also remember that the only 'cross over' switches in this area are near Framingham(CP 21) and between Wellesley Farms and Auburndale (CP 11, what I've nicknamed the "Weston Switch"). See the map for the locations of these switches, and see the glossary for definitions of "CP," "interlocking," and the "Weston Switch." The locations of the switches explain why the track 2 usage affects all the Natick and Wellesley stations - there is no way for trains to change tracks in the middle of this stretch of the line (or between Wellesley Hills and Wellesley Farms, for example).

Also convenient is the fact that the only platforms at the Newton stations are on track 2. So even prior to May 15, 2006, all rush hour inbound and outbound trains were using track 2 along the Newton stations in order to provide those stations with 'normal' (AM inbound, PM outbound) rush hour services. The May 15, 2006 change just extended the existing practice along the Newton stations all the way to West Natick.

Why did this become an issue in 2006 after years of operations without the track change along the West Natick to Wellesley Farms stations? As with most issues, a fatality may have played a role.

Prior to July 2004, a walkway across tracks 1 and 2 also existed at the Wellesley Farms train station. This walkway existed even though there was a sidewalk on the track 1 side and a stairway on the track 2 side that led to the Glen Road bridge.

"On December 6, 2003, Robert McTague, an employee of MBCR, was helping to clear snow from the railroad tracks at the Wellesley Farms commuter rail station during a storm. A CSX freight train passed through the station, striking and killing Mr. McTague."

News reports from the time indicate that a snowblower was being used along the tracks and that the freight train struck the snowblower which then struck Mr. McTague. There was never any reporting that Mr. McTague (or anyone) was on the cross-tracks walkway at the time of the incident, and it also isn't clear that Mr. McTague was actually operating the snowblower.

Sometime prior to July 2004, news reports indicate that the Federal Railway Administration (FRA) received complaints from Wellesley residents that the cross-tracks walkway at the Wellesley Farms station was dangerous. In collaboration with the FRA and the MBTA, MBCR decided to close the walkway with a fence to prevent pedestrians from walking across the tracks.

There is no indication that the fatality in December 2003 was a factor in closing this walkway, but all the parties involved in the collaboration would have been aware of the fatality and my guess is that it could not have been completely ignored. But there are no reports directly linking the closure of the walkway to the worker fatality.

After the walkway at Wellesley Farms was closed, commuters using that station were upset that they were being inconvenienced by being required to walk up to Glen Road to access the parking lot on the track 2 side of the station after deboarding their evening train on track 1. Many passengers would just walk east along the tracks and go around the fence between the tracks, rather than go up and over. I can recall seeing passengers make this walk behind the back of outbound trains.

A news report from March 2005 indicated that the issue had "reached a fever pitch." 200 passengers signed a petition asking the MBTA to re-open the closed walkway at Wellesley Farms. The MBTA held firm and I believe the fence was even extended at each end to make it less attractive as an alternative to the 'up and over.' MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo is quoted in the March 2005 article: "If we hear about people trying to jump the fence, then we'll grease it."

Clearly the issue of walkways and shortcuts across tracks was a hot topic during this time period (2003 to 2006). The wrongful death lawsuit regarding Mr. McTague ensnared the MBTA, MBCR, and CSX (then the owner and dispatcher of the line) starting in 2004. Again, although there is no public documentation or reporting regarding it, I have to believe that the fatality and the incredibly stupid and dangerous trespassing by commuters at Wellesley Farms kept the cross-track access issue on the front burner.

Given that context, it is natural to see how the FRA and all parties took a look at the situation not only at Wellesley Farms, but also at West Natick and Wellesley Hills - the only other stations with cross-track walkways on the line. Which leads us directly to the May 2006 notice and implementation of the idea to just get the bulk load of evening outbound commuters off of track 1. An elegant mitigation for a potentially hazardous safety issue.

The May 2006 track switch also alleviated the complaints at Wellesley Farms - evening passengers were now being discharged on the track 2 platform, directly adjacent to the parking lot. So no need to walk around the fence or 'up and over.'

As noted in the May 2006 notice, with the outbound rush hour trains on the "inbound track" (track 2), the inbound trains have to use the outbound tracks. Passengers going into Boston in the afternoon and evening must still use the walkways at West Natick and Wellesley Hills. But that is far less passengers crossing both tracks than forcing all of the outbound commuters to use the walkways.

This leads to another operational rule put into effect around the same time: trains are not allowed to pass each other within the West Natick or Wellesley Hills stations. This is to avoid the potential for a passenger to deboard the train in the station and then immediately cross the walkway behind the departing train - and not see a train coming from the opposite (or even same) direction on the other track. So you may notice your train stop or slow when approaching West Natick or Wellesley Hills (even if you are on an express train that isn't making a station stop there) - this is probably because another train is in the station on the opposite track.

Unfortunately, the issue of "board inbound trains on the outbound" track is quite confusing, and I have always disliked the naming of tracks by "inbound" and "outbound." For rush hour commuters between West Natick and Wellesley Farms, track 2 is always both the "inbound" and "outbound" track!

The problem is that the only clear labeling on signs at those stations is "inbound" and "outbound." There are no clear signs indicating track numbers. This is poor communication design in my opinion. But correcting it would cost money even if the powers that be agreed with my opinion.

At some point in the recent past, the MBTA and/or Keolis customer service decided that this afternoon track 'switch' needed to be announced EVERY DAY. One of our twitter friends likens the deluge of messages to the boy who cried wolf:

It is worth noting here that the track usage at Framingham is not as easily described. Some outbound trains terminate there and become an inbound train, so within a few minutes the same track will serve as both an "outbound" and an "inbound" track. The easiest example of this is in the morning between 7 AM and 8:30 AM. P506 and P508 use track 2 since they are coming from Worcester. And outbound P505 uses track 1 since it continues on towards Worcester. But P507 terminates in Framingham on track 1 and becomes inbound P510 on track 1. There are other examples throughout the day where the pattern of track usage within any particular day (although similar from day to day) is difficult to describe at Framingham.

Ugh! Too much to blog about and too little time! I have been wanting to write and post this for a while, but it turns out the delay worked out OK, since now I'm able to incorporate some more recent comments and articles about the bullet train.

The final version of the May 23, 2016 schedule was published on April 14, 2016. Official announcement page is here, with links to the new schedules. The reason it says "for informational purposes only" at the bottom of the new schedules is that those tables are not the official schedule format that will be published and made available shortly. But those are the final schedules - don't get worried that they're thinking of changing anything.

First and foremost, let's acknowledge the success of the public comment and public meeting process. They solicited input and made changes to the draft schedules according to the feedback they got. Probably not perfect for everyone, but from my perspective, they did a good job under the constraints (logistical and political) that they were operating under. A pretty good example of a government agency working well, in my humble opinion. Remember - the schedules were entirely developed and driven by the MBTA - NOT Keolis. MBTA sets the schedules, Keolis implements them. And I'm not just kissing up to the MBTA folks reading this blog, for all you folks that think I'm just a shill.

So what do I think? You can read all of my previous posts on the new schedule with this handy "new schedule" category link. But I'll consolidate my thoughts here - and add some new thoughts - just to make this post ridiculously long, like so many of my posts.

1. Bullet Train: Oops, sorry, it's the "Heart To Hub."

I've previously discussed my disdain for this service, but I'll summarize my opposition below. I'm well aware that there are passengers who will benefit from this train and are excited to see it added to the schedule. I mean them no ill will. I'm looking at it from the perspective of ALL the riders at ALL the stations (and the bullet doesn't really affect me, since I commute from Framingham, which has plenty of good service).

a) Reduces service for stations from Grafton to Ashland. They go from seven morning rush inbound trips to six. In the afternoon rush outbound, the trips increase from six to seven, but this also includes the expansion of the definition of rush hour to include the new 3:30 PM South Station departure. But more important is the concept that if the "bullet" equipment were re-purposed to include Grafton to Ashland the service would be more equitable for all 'distant' stations (beyond Framingham). Service could be much more evenly distributed in the morning and an express train (serving all 'usual' express stops) could be added in the evening after 6 PM, which many people have asked for. See my "How would I fix..." write-ups on this blog post for more details of how I would re-use the bullet equipment.

b) Requires track to be 'clear' while bullet moves through. They have somewhat mitigated this problem in the morning with train P510 making the Wellesley stops (see below) but there is still a huge gap in service for the Grafton to Ashland stations from about 7:50 AM to 9:00 AM. The evening bullet train really doesn't push any service out of the way since the evening bullet is so far outside rush hour.

c) Minimal incremental benefit for big cost. Transit time for the bullet train is 1 hour 2 minutes in the AM and 1 hour 5 minutes in the AM (end to end). For the 'regular' express trains, transit time is about 1 hour 20 minutes. The benefit of the 'bullet' is 15 to 18 minutes but the cost is the issues highlighted above. Not a fair trade-off in my opinion.

d) The actual times that the bullet operates are odd. Understanding that these may be targeted towards the 'millennial' passenger with flex time and a shifted work schedule (later), it still seems odd to me. However, with only two tracks and limited crossovers on the mainline, there is no way to insert the bullet train into the schedule at a more useful time for the majority of Worcester passengers. So while the times are odd, I understand why they have placed them where they are.

New thoughts:

e) We now have much more strong evidence that this train is a political invention. In a very insightful article, Gintautas Dumcius of MassLive.com reveals that the Worcester Chamber of Commerce (led by former Lt. Governor Tim Murray of Worcester) has been very active in the 'bullet' train discussions. And I am guessing that there was some involvement by current Lt. Governor Karyn Polito (a resident of Shrewsbury) given her involvement in rolling out the announcements of the bullet train. The statement from Secretary Pollack (from Newton - does everyone live on our line?) telling "them" that the train would run for a year and then be reevaluated certainly sounds like a response to a politically driven issue.

Other names from Twitter: "Politician's Express," "BS Express," "Dump to Hub," "Wormtown to Beantown," "Gut to Heart," "Ghost Train" (as in no passengers), "Clogged Artery & Broken Heart," "Pandering Limited," "Polito Special," "Polito to Pollack," "Murray Consolation Prize," "Catering to Millennials Special," "Heart Bypass," "Rosie Ruiz Extreme."
Think of more and tweet them to me or put them in the comments below! It might not be our favorite train but at least we can have fun with the names...

h) This train has gotten more advertisement and press coverage than most recent candidates for political office. If I start seeing TV commercials for it, then I'll really be impressed. However, in a stunning example of tone deafness, posters advertising the "Heart to Hub" train have been spotted at stations BETWEEN Worcester and Boston. Why? What could that possibly do except aggravate customers who cannot possibly benefit from it and will probably suffer because of it?

i) Up until now, the MBTA has implemented a safety rule that trains must have at least four coaches in the consist. The conventional wisdom has been that with less than four coaches, the train does not have enough brake pad surface area / braking power for full speed operation. So a train with less than four coaches is restricted to slower speeds. In the late winter / early spring, there were plans to test 3 coach consists with the intent that the new bullet train would only have 3 coaches. I haven't heard an update - but I can't see the bullet train having more than 4 coaches. It's also possible that they keep 4 coaches in the consist so that the set can be used more interchangeably for other trains regardless of the outcome of the testing of shorter trains.

j) Funny thing - back in 1950, there were four round trips (or as the MBTA would call it, 8 trips) between Worcester and South Station with a total transit time of 57 minutes. And they stopped in Framingham AND Newtonville AND Back Bay ("Huntington Ave")! Hat tip to Ari Ofsevit and Otto Vondrak.

k) There is a press conference with the Lt. Governor planned for the inauguration of the bullet train on the morning of May 23rd. I'll be there to stand up for my 1st amendment right to call it the 'bullet' train. And I won't be shy about telling the Lt. Governor what I think (politely, of course). Maybe she reads my blog and will already know?

Enough about the bullet train, let's move on...

​2. Natick Center

Natick Center loses peak inbound express service from P508. I have no problem with this move - their transit time on a local train is only around 45 minutes, while passengers west of Framingham have at least that much transit time on an express train. As I've explained in prior posts, there has to be an inflection point for local vs. express service, and West Natick seems to be a fair place for this inflection.

Additionally, I think this change may be to try to alleviate some of the passenger load from P508. According to recent passenger counts, P508 has the highest ridership of any train on the entire MBTA Commuter Rail system (1423 passengers). It already uses the largest train set (8 doubles) in use on the system and it isn't clear if 9 car consists can or will be implemented. Taking some passengers off of P508 gives some breathing room for future natural passenger growth from outlying stations. Obviously it would be better if West Natick had much more parking in order to absorb the displaced Natick Center P508 refugees, but that would also not shift Natick area passengers away from P508.

3. Restoration of West Natick service to express trains

This is the best example of the MBTA being responsive to the comments (and an on-line petition) generated during the public comment period. It looks like West Natick passengers got more than they asked for with inclusion on all express trains (P504, P508, and P521 didn't stop at West Natick on the original draft schedule - now they do).

4. Wellesley gets service between 8 and 9 AM

The original draft schedule had P510 skipping all three Wellesley stations. The final schedule has those stops restored. Fills a need for those passengers, and only costs an extra 8 minutes on the transit time. I'm neutral on this change, but it was responsive to a number of comments submitted to the MBTA.

5. Newton continues to be difficult

With platforms on track 2 only, it is difficult to provide appropriate or useful reverse commute service to the Newton stations. There just isn't a good solution with the infrastructure we have.

Finally, I will work on an updated Turn Table for the new schedule and see if I can get it confirmed by the MBTA. Hopefully I'll be able to publish it next week.

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Author

As of late October 2017, the author is an MBTA employee. Blog posts prior to that time were created when I was NOT affiliated with the MBTA nor Keolis and therefore were my own opinion. Blog posts after October 2017 are my own personal statements and do not represent any official position or opinion of the MBTA and should not be construed as having been endorsed by the MBTA.